Historical Society to Face Challenge Over Circus World’s Animal Acts

PETA Will Call On Board Members to Relegate Museum's Elephant and Tiger Shows to the History Books

For Immediate Release:
November 8, 2018

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

Milwaukee – A group of PETA supporters will attend the Wisconsin Historical Society’s board meeting in Milwaukee on Friday and urge the society to stop hosting animal exhibitors at Circus World in Baraboo.

When:    Friday, November 9, 10 a.m.

Where:    The Harley-Davidson Museum, Peace Conference Room, 500 W. Canal St., Milwaukee

“We live in an age when kind people object to whipping tigers and beating elephants, yet the Wisconsin Historical Society is still allowing abusive animal exhibitors to set up shop at Circus World,” says PETA Foundation Deputy Director Rachel Mathews. “PETA is calling on the society to end these animal displays and leave circus cruelty in the past.”

During training sessions last year, Ryan Easley—Circus World’s recent big-cat exhibitor—was caught violently whipping tigers, one of whom he struck 31 times. Carson & Barnes Circus, which recently performed at Circus World, has racked up more than 100 violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act—including one while at Circus World, where it was cited for failing to show that a thin elephant with visible hip bones and shoulder blades had been provided with veterinary care.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—is also running a billboard on the road from the society’s base in Madison to Baraboo that proclaims, “Animal Circuses: Still Chained to the Past. Make Them History.”

For more information, please visit PETA.org.

For Media: Contact PETA's
Media Response Team.

Contact

Get PETA Updates

Stay up to date on the latest vegan trends and get breaking animal rights news delivered straight to your inbox!

By submitting this form, you’re acknowledging that you have read and agree to our privacy policy and agree to receive e-mails from us.

 Ingrid E. Newkirk

“Almost all of us grew up eating meat, wearing leather, and going to circuses and zoos. We never considered the impact of these actions on the animals involved. For whatever reason, you are now asking the question: Why should animals have rights?” READ MORE

— Ingrid E. Newkirk, PETA President and co-author of Animalkind